Bite Me

Fabio Parasecoli is President of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and teaches on food history, culture and the arts at the Citta del Gusto School in Rome and at New York University. He is also a journalist for the food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso and author of Food Culture in Italy.

In Bite Me, Fabio Parasecoli gives us a riveting tour of the role of food in popular culture. Parasecoli takes a fresh and wonderfully analytical look at the deeper societal meanings of such matters as vampires, South Park, and the Atkins diet - subjects not often perceived as grist for scholarly mills. Never has semiotics been so much fun. Marion Nestle, New York University Parasecoli's analysis takes on vampires, aliens, body builders and booty, rap lyrics, and culinary tourism in a whirlwind ride that is deeply engaging, genuinely impassioned, and refreshingly saucy. A. B. Audant, CHOICE Magazine Parasecoli is a scholar with a heart. His writing is genuinely brilliant and genuinely genuine; his approach is refreshing, with lively and original material. Bite Me is an important book that will gain relevance as we advance into the frenetic zone of our century's second decade. There is little doubt that Parasecoli will be at the forefront with all the lines of communication and media open and at the ready. Gastronomica

• Chapter 1: Introduction: Pop Culture Drama: Food and Body Politics Chapter 2: Hungry Memories: Food, the Brain and the Consuming Self Chapter 3: Of Breasts and Beasts: Vampires and other Voracious Monsters Chapter 4: Tasty Utopia: Food and Politics in Science Fiction Chapter 5: Quilting the Empty Body: Food and Dieting Chapter 6: Jam, Juice, and Strange Fruit: Edible Black Bodies Chapter 7: Tourism and Taste: Exploring Identities Afterword: A Plea for Pleasure